Noble Survival
by Alakaar
Summary: Mostly AU, retaining most of the normal universe's elements. What remains of Noble Team tries to escape the doomed planet of Reach, but many challenges and more death await them. Rated M just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1: Package Delivered

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo. Not surprising.**

**A/N: In this, Six is completely default. Dark gray/Black Mark V [B] armour, AKA the armour used in most of the trailers/ads.**

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****Six and Emile  
****August 30, 2552  
****Pillar of Autumn, Reach**

"Six, time for you to leave. Get the Package to the pad and get your ass off this planet. I've got your back." Emile's voice sounded over the commlink.

Six nodded hid head in his direction in thanks. He put his DMR on his back and walked up to the pad just as Keyes' Pelican was landing. The back hatch opened and several marines came out to keep the area clear. Keyes came out only moments after. Six took the Package out from behind his back and presented it to Keyes who took it graciously.

"Good to see you Spartan." he said. "Catherine assured me I could count on you."

Six remembered the rest of Noble, specifically Carter, and how they helped him get the Package to this point.

"Not just me sir." he said somberly.

"They'll be remembered." Keyes said, reaching out to touch Six's arm briefly to comfort him. He looked at the Package in his hands briefly, before turning and noticing a Covenant cruiser approaching them. Six turned and saw it as well.

"Cruiser! Adjusting heading for the Autumn!" Keyes announced over the comm, touching his ear. "Noble Four, I need fire on that cruiser or we're not getting out of here! Do you copy?"

"You'll have your window, sir." Emile said back, turning the cannon.

The marines got aboard the Pelican followed by Keyes. "Rich,(A/N: I have no idea)we have the Package. Returning to the Autumn." Keyes said to some unknown person.

"Copy that."

Six was ready to board the Pelican as well, but he heard a Phantom approaching and took his DMR out to battle any Covenant forces that were to be deployed. The other Pelican tried to fly towards the Autumn but was shot down by the Phantom. Keyes' Pelican dodged the falling vehicle and made sure not to get hit by the Phantom which started to fly towards the MAC cannon. The Pelican fell towards the platform Six was on and he dived out of the way as it fell down the cliff.

Six grabbed his DMR and aimed towards the Phantom which had made it's way over to the MAC cannon and Emile. The side turret fired at him and prevented him from firing to help Emile. An Elite dropped down on the canopy of the cannon, sword at the ready. Emile let out a yell and shot the Elite through the glass, making it's shields flare and knocking it down.

Emile stood up and shoved his shotgun into the Elite's face and blasted it to hell.

"Who's next?" he asked. An Elite answered the question by lunging a sword through his backside and lifting him into the air.

"Argh!" Emile screamed. The sword came out of him and he pulled his kukri out. "I'm ready! How 'bout you?" He stabbed the knife into the alien's throat and the two fell down out of sight.

Six quickly checked Emile's vital signs, and found they were faint, but there. He'd need immediate medical attention if he were to survive. Keyes' Pelican was nearing the pad again.

"Lieutenant!" one of the marines called, reaching out a hand as Six turned around. "We gotta get the hell outta here!"

Six pondered the idea for a moment. If he left, he'd survive. Live to fight another day and help possibly win the war. But he'd be leaving Emile behind, and leaving the Autumn exposed to that cruiser. The decision was easy.

"Negative. I have the gun." he said calmly. "Good luck sir." Six turned away from the Pelican.

"Good luck to you Spartan..." Keyes said sadly. The Pelican pulled away and towards the Autumn once again.

Six started running over to the stairs where and few Grunts and a Zealot had just come out at the top.

"Noble Six get on that mass driver and clear me a path!" Keyes ordered over the comm.

"Got it sir." Six replied, killing the Grunts with 3 single headshots before tossing a frag at the Zealot's feet, destroying it's shields but doing little damage to it's flesh. It let out a angry roar, and Six charged towards it with his knife out, knocking it down and stabbing it in the neck. He stood up again and sheathed the knife and walked inside, making a quick left into a small, slightly enclosed area.

He counted two Elites on ground level and one on the upper level, as well as several Grunts and an Engineer. He went to the left doorway where he could see the Engineer. A well placed plasma grenade would take it out.

He held a plasma grenade in his hand, counted to three and primed it before sticking the floating alien. It blew up and left the remaining enemies without overshields. Six peeked around the corner and shot a pair of Grunts, leaving them dead. One of the Elites saw him and the two of them charged to the doorway.

"Shit..." Six muttered. The first one got around the corner and Six punched it hard in the face and it stumbled sideways as the second came in and knocked him to the ground. It took it's energy dagger out and attempted to stab him but Six kicked it back and shot it's shields out. He tried to shoot one last time but found he was out of ammo.

"Dammit!" Six shouted, rolling sideways as the shieldless Elite attempted another stab. Six took his pistol out and put a bullet in it's head, killing it. The other Elite had recovered now and rushed him, but Six took his knife out and shoved it in the Elite's gut and threw it to the ground as it died. He put a few bullets in it's head to kill it for sure before leaving the small room and shooting the last pair of Grunts who had merely cowered as they waited for their leaders to return.

The final Elite, a Zealot, had a fuel rod and let off a few shots in his direction. One hit him directly and his shields died. Luckily the Zealot was a bad shot as the other two green bursts hit off to his left. Six quickly ran up the small set of stairs and rolled to dodge another shot, before firing back with his pistol. Clearly the Elite wasn't happy with the gun, as he tossed it away and took an energy sword and ran towards him. These Elites were really charge crazy.

Six waited for the few moments it took for the Elite to reach him and quickly sidestepped and punched it in the jaw, which stunned it long enough for him to wrench the sword out of it's hand and stab it into it's chest and locking it to the ground. It gurgled a bit and Six curb-stomped it's face in.

"Take that you bastards." Six said, breathing heavily. He made his way up the final set of stairs and found Emile leaning against the side railing.

The Spartan weakly turned his head towards Six. "Six. Nice of you to join me." he said, letting out an injured cough.

"I'm getting you outta here." Six said, taking some biofoam out and inserting it into the sword wounds. The foam filled the holes up and Emile was feeling slightly better. The wounds were already mostly cauterized from the plasma, but he was bound to have internal/organ damage.

"Thanks Six...but get your ass on the cannon. The Autumn needs you. I've got your back." Emile said, crawling over to a pair of Spartan Lasers and grabbing one. "I'll make sure no Banshees get ya while you're occupied."

Six nodded in thanks before hopping in the cannon and firing at a nearby Phantom. This thing was overkill for them, but he couldn't fire at the cruiser until it got closer. A Phantom flew right overhead, but Six took care of it before it could launch any troops onto the platform. Another one approached from far away, it was merely cannon fodder from this distance. Hell, all of the Phantoms that approached them were cannon fodder. This was just a waiting game for that cruiser.

Shooting a few more Phantoms, Six noticed the laser was charging on the cruiser.

"C'mon Six..." Emile said, shooting a Banshee out of the sky.

"Not close enough." Six said back, shooting another Phantom.

A couple more minutes passed, with several Phantoms and many Banshees shot out of the sky, and the cruiser was almost ready to fire it's laser.

"Six!" Emile shouted.

"Fire now Lieutenant! Hit her in the gut!" Keyes said over the comm.

Six aimed and a pair of shots flew straight and true into the cruiser's belly, crippling it and sending it to the planet's surface.

"Good gun Spartan. All stations brace for castoff." Keyes said.

Keyes' Pelican neared the Autumn and finally landed safely in the landing bay. Six stepped down from the cannon, and watched the Autumn be lift off the construction pad. Emile had gotten to his feet and braced himself against the railing, and watched with Six. It was a beautiful thing. Humanity's last hope sat on that ship and would hopefully win the war for them.

Then the help-engines dropped down, and the Autumn boosted off, headed towards space.

"This is the Pillar of Autumn, we are away. The Package is with us." Keyes announced over the comms.

"...And now we're done our part. It's all up to them now." Emile said.

"Yeah..." Six said. Noble had the easy part. The Autumn was now their last hope at conquering the Covenant and ending the war. Permanently.

Rain began to pour down heavily on the two Spartans and Six turned to Emile.

"Let's find some shelter. And you, some real medical care. Sleep wouldn't be too bad either." Six said, offering an arm.

"Yeah." Emile said. Grabbing the arm for support. "If we're lucky we'll be glassed in our sleep...let's go."

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**A/N: Not too bad for a first chapter. Though it's mostly already established material. Not exactly sure where I'm going with this, besides them living. But I'll probably get a plan in the works soon-ish.**


	2. Chapter 2: Remnants

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo.**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. ^_^ You get this chapter early(ish). Besides this one, I'll be updating about every Thursday and Friday. Also just thought I'd say that I got this all planned out now so no more "just writing". Now read.**

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**Emile and Six  
****August 30, 2552  
****Marine Encampment, Reach**

"Only a few more feet." Six said, to the weakening man next to him.

"Good...biofoam is dissipating..." Emile said, letting out a weak cough. "Great. I got blood on my visor."

Six brought him over to the marine medic, who took him away gently, but probably did very little to keep Emile standing. He was far too heavy for him. Six breathed a little easier knowing his teammate was in more capable hands then himself in the area of medical experience.

Only about 10 other marines were around the small camp. This camp was likely to be holding some of the last humans on Reach. All around them was barren and burned land. The giant mountain not too far in the distance, loomed over them almost as if it were keeping a watchful eye on them.

Six let out a sigh and slumped down on the ground, leaning his back against a rock. Was all this loss of life really just for a simple ancient artifact and the AI that studied it? Maybe if he were told more about both he'd have greater faith, but he was told little to nothing, save for the fact that he was "chosen". He took off his helmet for the first time in days, and breathed the fresh, yet ashy, air. Even if the AI was a failure...Six had to make sure he and Emile survived Reach to fight another day. They would need every Spartan in the fight to win this war.

A marine came over and leaned against the rock with him, he took out a cigar and lit it, puffing out smoke into the air. Six studied the marine for a moment and noticed he looked young. Very young. At least 20, no older. He had light buzz-cut hair and a surprisingly clean, unblemished face although stubble dotted his cheeks, lips, and chin. His voice matched the looks.

"Want one Spartan?" he asked, holding a hand out with a cigar, in offer.

Six shook his head. "No thanks Corporal. I'm planning on surviving this war or going out in a fight. Not die of cancer."

The marine chuckled. "I guess you're right...It'd be pretty damn ironic to survive this long war only to die of cancer days after...but it calms my nerves. Makes me look like a badass too."

Six let out a small chuckle at the marine's words. You could always count on someone to be in a good mood and not let the war get them down. Six shifted into a more comfortable position and closed his eyes, holding his helmet in his lap. He heard the marine leave him be, and soon he had drifted off into a deep, relaxing sleep.

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**Emile and Six  
****August 31, 2552  
****Marine Encampment, Reach**

"Six. Wake up."

"Six!"

Six suddenly awoke and took his pistol out and aimed it at the direction of the voice, lightning quick.

"Heh. Relax. No Covie bastards here to kill you. At least not groundside."

Six lowered his pistol recognizing the voice, but not so much the face. "Emile. You're up."

"Yeah. You've been napping for a good 8 hours. I 'slept' a good 5." Emile told him, helmet under his arm. He sat himself down next to him. "Doc took good care of me. Fixed up my stomach, which was the only thing punctured. Diaphragm was cut and singed from the plasma but it's gonna heal by itself. Skin and muscle tissue was easily stitched up."

"Not too bad then?" Six said, just noticing the fire Emile had started not long before he awoke. It was also night.

"Doc said a normal person with these injuries should rest about a few weeks to a month...I'd say being a Spartan gives me about a week if not less." Emile said, a bit more jolly than usual. Probably the fact that he had survived near-death.

"Just don't over exert yourself." Six warned.

"Heh. I'll try not too 'Doc'." Emile said.

Six just smiled, and stared at the fire, as it flickered and popped. The two were silent for the longest time, before Emile broke the silence.

"Lonely being the last of Noble...Hoping we'd be able to go out...preferably with a fight..." Emile said, averting his eyes to the stars above them. "Clear night."

Six brought his attention to the sky as well. "We shouldn't so willing to just throw our lives away. We need to keep Noble alive. We _will_ keep Noble alive. We may die doing so, but we won't die here. Not on Reach."

"Amen to that." Emile said, letting out a relaxed breath.

Now they just needed a way off this dead planet. Six looked back down towards the fire and noticed an odd glimer. His eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed. Were his eyes playing tricks on him? Was that glimmer the fi-

An energy sword smashed into the rock where he had been barely a millisecond ago. Six had chosen correctly and rolled out of the way. _Thank god for Spartan reflexes._ He thought. Emile took his shotgun out and jabbed it into the Elite's chest and fired, completely destroying the flesh and internal organs of it and sending it to the ground.

"Fucking cowards." Emile said, he turned around and shouted to the camp. "Camouflaged Elites! Watch your backs! Put out those fires and use night vision!"

He picked up his helmet and closed the seal which reactivated his shields quickly. Six followed suite and picked up his DMR. The two activated their night vision and found cover near a rock.

Emile pressed his fingers against his ear. "Find cover everyone and remain silent. Use close quarters weapons. Radio silence until they are all killed." Emile ordered the marine troops.

Six heard some shuffling and rocks being kicked, but then only silence. He listened carefully and heard something kick a rock not far ahead of him. He saw the faint shape of a Grunt and shot where the head looked to be and it dropped dead. Gelatinous, glowing blue blood fell from the body which was now visible.

"We've got Grunts." Six whispered.

Then suddenly a glowing grenade sailed through the air and landed behind a rock.

"Shit!"

"Oh fu-"

It exploded, and a few chunks of human and blood flew in the air.

Then suddenly plasma began flying through the air and around the camp.

"Return fire! Return fire!" Emile shouted, taking out his pistol sidearm and shooting the now visible Covenant.

Six ran over to a pair of marines and helped defend them from the enemy fire, the three shot down two Elites and several Grunts, before one of the marines got hit by plasma in the face.

"Get down!" Six shouted, pushing the marine down. He saw another marine being rushed by an Elite but Emile hopped out from behind a rock and stabbed it in the neck.

"Eat this!"

Six popped out from cover and got two headshots on a pair of Grunts. He crouched down and the marine stood up and let off a few bursts of his assault rifle before crouching and reloading. Then Six turned around and saw an Elite perched on top of the rock he was using for cover with an energy sword at the ready. It let out a battlecry and slashed at him, Six brought up his DMR to block it, which saved him but left him defenseless. The marine shot at the Elite to distract it. It swerved it's head to the marine and let out another roar.

"Fuck you too!" the marine shouted before throwing himself into it and over the rock.

Six picked up the assault rifle the other marine had dropped when he had been shot and was about to help the marine before seeing a frag explosion kill him and the Elite. That marine deserved a medal for his bravery.

"Thanks..." Six said, before killing another Elite who was nearing his cover. He heard footsteps from behind, and turned and saw Emile and two marines. He stared for a moment. "Is this the last of us?"

"Yeah. Sadly. But we'll get through this." Emile said. "We've been through worse."

"Yeah." one of the marines said. "Can't be much more of 'em left."

"The Covenant own Reach. I'm sure there's many more." the other said.

"They wouldn't waste tons of forces on a fews soldiers." Six said, killing a Grunt and an Elite before crouching and reloading.

"We'll kill 'em all if we have to." Emile said. "Cover me. I'm making for that rock. Need close range for this thing."

Six nodded and began firing wildly, the marines following suite, and Emile hopped over the rock and sprinted towards his intended rock. He made it with only a few shield flares.

Six tossed a grenade into a group of Grunts and they flew several feet in each direction.

"Only a few more." the first marine said. He hopped onto the rock and fired his DMR at the last remaining Grunts.

"Ha ha!" he laughed cockily.

"Get into cover Grant!" the other marine said.

"Calm down would ya Williams?" Grant said. "Emile just took care of the last Elite. We've only got Grunts left."

Then a plasma grenade, out of pure luck, sailed straight and true and landed on the marines chest.

"NO! FUCK!" Grant screamed.

"Shit!" Williams said, backing away.

Six pushed him over the rock and he exploded into chunky bits. Six shook his head in sorrow before hopping up onto the rock to see Emile shoot the final Grunt.

"Area clear." Emile said somberly, his shotgun held loosely at his side.

Six helped Williams onto the rock and the two made their way over to Emile. Six shut off his night vision as the sun was just beginning to rise, leaving a faint orange wash over the barren landscape. It would have been beautiful were it not for the circumstances.

"Private..." Six began.

"...First Class Zachary C. Levi."

"Search for survivors...retrieve their dog tags." Six finished.

"On it sir." Zach said, giving a quick salute before walking over to the nearest marine body.

"We've gotta get off this planet Six." Emile said. "Covenant are gonna continue hunting us down on the surface until they find what they're looking for. Or we're all dead. That's only if they don't glass us first."

"Then we should head to the mountain, and CASTLE Base." Six said. "Halsey may have mentioned it to me before we set off on this quest."

"That's a long trek." Emile said. "Maybe if we're lucky we'll find transportation."

Then Zach came walking back to them, gripping nine dog tags. He held them up and out.

"Keep them. They're your group. Your friends." Six said. "We've also got a long journey ahead of us. We're headed to CASTLE Base. Hopefully we'll find transportation there."

"Let's hope so." Zach said, pocketing the tags.

"You've got point, Six." Emile said, gesturing for Six to lead the way. Six nodded and began the long trek to CASTLE Base, Emile and Williams following behind him.

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**A/N: Fans of Chuck will notice the character I added in there, provided you know the actor's name. Zach's definitely a favourite actor of mine. Now then, leave reviews if you have the time and remember to be leave constructive criticism as well.**


	3. Chapter 3: Carter

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo.**

**A/N: As you can tell by the title of the chapter, we've got another survivor of Noble. So enjoy the chapter :) Also, sorry for it being late, just got Brotherhood and been having fun with that.**

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**Carter, Emile, and Six  
****August 30, 2552  
****Canyon Tunnels, Reach**

"I've got the mass..."

Carter swung the Pelican around ready to sacrifice himself to allow Emile and Six to continue on and deliver the Package. The two Spartans were resourceful enough to get this far by themselves, but a Scarab was hardly a fair match(at least when they didn't have a whole lot of time on their hands).

But suddenly doubts crept into his mind. What if the two were killed before the Package was delivered to the Autumn? What if the Autumn was destroyed mid-launch? Too many ifs, not enough definitives. But he knew them. They would make it. Even if it took their lives as well.

"Hit 'em hard boss." Emile's voice sounded over the radio.

Carter picked up his helmet and placed it on his head, then fired at the large Covenant vehicle. If there was even a slim chance of him surviving this, he had to take it. He had to make sure the mission was successful.

"Carter out." he said calmly, before firing one last burst. He quickly stood up and took a couple steps away from the cockpit before blackness and heat overtook him.**(A/N: Feels a bit out of character but it'll have to do.)**

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**Carter  
****August 31, 2552  
****Barren Wasteland, Reach**

Night had fallen upon Reach's now barren landscape. But no crickets chirped, nor any other creature make a sound. The smoking wreckage of a Pelican and Scarab lay in a heap at the bottom of a cliff, metals and alloys making the only sound within miles as they occasionally groaned from the stress put upon them. Suddenly, a scorched, armoured hand reached out and grabbed the side around it's exit point. Carter pulled himself out of the wreckage, scorched and injured badly but very much alive.

He took in his surroundings, noticing the night around him. He sat himself down and pulled a large chunk of Pelican metal out of his right arm. The bleeding wasn't bad. It would easily scab over if he didn't bother it. He leapt off the pile of pile of junk and fell flat on his face from the pain in his legs.

"Urgh!" he grunted. He examined them, and only found scratches and burns. Nothing serious. Maybe it was just all of the recent stress that had been put on them. He limped away from the wreck into the open to get a good view of where the Autumn should have been-nothing was there. Not even wreckage.

"They did it." Carter said to himself, unsurprised. He raised a pair of fingers to his ear. "Emile, Six. Respond. I need confirmation that the Package was delivered."

Only static came back.

"Six, Emile...respond. That's an order."

Still nothing.

He had to assume the worst. Both of them were probably dead...but the Package must have been delivered. Hopefully. He'd have to head to CASTLE Base now. It was one of the last Human controlled places on Reach and it was most likely home to many of Reach's survivors...however many that may be. So Carter began walking towards it but stumbled after only a few feet. He looked down and remembered all of the injuries he had sustained. But he had to keep walking.

Suddenly, very small pinpricks of blue and yellow started flashing off far in the distance. Someone had survived! He quickly turned his comm onto an open channel.

"This is Spartan A259! Does anyone read me!" Carter shouted.

"Sierra?" a man's voice sounded through plenty of static. "We could use the extra firepower over here...shit...AHH!" The sound of an energy sword cut him off. The Elite growled before another voice, more distant this time sounded.

"Pick on someone your own size, freak!"

"Emile?" Carter exclaimed. "Emile, this is Carter-" Carter stopped talking as fuzz and static filled his ear. He wacked the side of his helmet.

"Damnit." he cursed, before he started sprinting towards the battle in the distance. He let out a cough, and it hurt badly and he tripped and fell on his front.

"I can't do this..." he said, flipping onto his back. He took his helmet off to let the ashy air touch his face. He sucked in breathfuls of air, coughing in between them. His vision started to black out and he started to drag himself further towards the battle.

"Don't...want to...go out like this." he said weakly. Soon darkness had fully taken over him again.

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**Carter  
****August 31, 2552  
****Refugee Caves, Reach**

When light came back to his vision, he noticed that their was a ceiling over him and he could sense the presence of other people around him. He looked down and saw that he was wearing civilian fatigues, and soon his eyes had totally cleared up. He sat up and examined his major wounds, which were now cleaned and stitched. He had to assume any internal damage was fixed up as well.

Then a average sized man came over to him, clean shaven and very short hair. He looked to be in his 50s. He held out a hand and Carter hesitated only a second before shaking.

"Spartan A-239 Carter." he introduced himself.

"Civilian Leonard Sieyes." the man said, almost mocking him. He had a light Hungarian accent.

"Is this your...home?" Carter asked, looking around and noticing merely darkness and gray rock walls, several campfires and torches being the only sources of light.

"No. My home is much nicer than this...but with the planet under attack we found this deep cave in the mountain. Not quite as safe as CASTLE, but we weren't granted access inside." the man said, sadness overtaking his features. "But we sent out a patrol to investigate that battle you most likely saw..." Carter nodded. "...and we found plenty of the Covenant bodies and several marine bodies. Not a pleasant sight."

"Tell me...did you see any Spartans? Dead or alive?" Carter asked.

"No. Besides you of course. You were in a bad way when we found you but we brought you back here and our medic patched you up. Not military...he's probably better than military medics though." Leonard said, rubbing his chin. "Glad to see you awake though. And alive."

"Thank you. Good to _be _alive." Carter said. "Another question...which mountain is this located inside?"

"Menachite. Not near CASTLE if that's what you're wondering. This cave is natural and we found it about several miles west from CASTLE's entrance. If you run you could probably make it before the Covenant start glassing."

"They've already glassed the rest of the planet. Why wouldn't they glass here?" Carter asked the man, although he didn't expect an answer.

"No idea." Leonard said simply.

Carter gave himself a few minutes to think. What exactly would stop the Covenant from glassing this area? Nothing popped into his head. Then he remembered the foreign object that the AI was studying. There couldn't be another one of those...could there? Maybe it was the same creators but a different type of...thing?

Well whatever the case, he needed a way off this planet...even if these civilians didn't realize that they would eventually be nothing but dust and glass.

"Well I've got to go. Even if we're not dead now, we will be in the next few hours. Do you have transport?" Carter said, walking over to his armour which was currently in a messy pile, and began putting it on(after taking the civilian fatigues off of course).

"We've got a damaged Warthog near the entrance. You'll need it more than our patrols will." Leonard said.

"Alright." Carter said, finishing putting on his armour. He put his helmet under his arm and turned around to look at Leonard. Leonard held his hand out once more. Carter took it and shook.

"It's been an honour, Spartan. Kill some Covies for me will ya?" Leonard said, smiling at him.

"Will do, sir." Carter said, placing his helmet on. He walked through the cave and soon the sun's light reached his eyes. It was a deep cave, but it wouldn't protect them from the glassing. He doubted even CASTLE Base would survive. He found the 'Hog and hopped in and started the engine-

"Wait!"

Carter twisted his head around and saw a familiar woman. The one that Jorge had taken care of. What was her name?

"Sara." Carter said, quietly.

"Where is Jorge?" she asked, a worried look in her eyes.

Carter hesitated a moment. "He's...gone. I'm sorry."

He saw a few tears run down her face and he turned back forward towards the barren landscape.

"Do you want to come?" Carter offered.

"No. I'll stay. With friends and family. 'Till the end." she said, starting to walk away.

Carter remained silent, and started to drive.

"Good luck..." she said, just before he got out of hearing distance.

Carter just remained somber, as he activated a NAV point for CASTLE Base's entrance. "...Luck...I'm gonna need it."

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**A/N: I'm a bit iffy on this chapter. Felt too quick, but oh well. Please rate/review/point out mistakes/etc. **


	4. Chapter 4: Brutal Attack

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo.**

**A/N: I appreciate the reviews guys. Thanks for reading and continue putting reviews up! :)**

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**Emile, Six, and Levi  
****August 31, 2552  
****Castle Base Entrance, Reach**

"Son of a bitch." Zach swore. "They blew it up. Damn them."

"You're exaggerating marine. They only blew up our only way in." Emile said, examining the rubble. "And we're not getting through this rubble anytime soon. Not that we _have _the time."

Zach took off his helmet and wiped some sweat off his brow. The planet was heating up. Probably due to the Covenant's glassing and superheating of the planet.

"Fine...So now what?" he asked. Emile gave him no answer and just walked over to Six who was searching for anything salvageable.

"Find anything Six?" Emile asked, resting his shotgun on his shoulder.

"Nothing that we can use, no. Only junk. Though this Wraith here..." Six smacked it with his hand. "...was destroyed by Banshees. Banshee fuel rods to be specific. Not sure why the Covenant were attacking their own."

"Sorry Six, but useless knowledge like this isn't exactly gonna help us off this planet." Emile said.

"I'm doing what I can Emile." Six said.

"I know. But we can't die like this. Not defenseless on this godforsaken planet, with the Covie bastards glassing us from space." Emile said, feeling defeated and useless. He turned back towards the mountain that loomed before them. Six stepped up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll get through this. We've been in worse situations." Six said.

Emile chuckled as a memory came back to him. "Heh. You should've seen me and the big man this one time. We-"

"Sorry to interrupt Spartans, but we've got a situation on our hand. Phantom inbound." Zach said, raising an assault rifle.

The Spartans twisted around and saw a lone Phantom flying towards them. It was going at a steady pace. It clearly hadn't seen them yet.

"Get into cover!" Six said, crouching behind the Wraith. Emile and Zach hid behind a large chunk of unidentifiable metal. "Quiet..."

It took only about a minute for the Phantom to reach their position, and it slowly passed overhead without a hitch until...

"Demons!" a squeaky voice screamed.

Six looked up and saw a Grunt peeking over the edge of the turret platform. Zach put a bullet in it's brain and it fell to the ground.

"Is it just me or did it speak English?" Zack asked no-one in particular.

"Who cares. It's sending Brutes down!" Emile said, cocking his shotgun.

The gravity beam on the bottom of the Phantom activated, and 3 Brute Minors, a Hammer chieftain and a Fuel Rod chieftain.

"That looks a bit difficult for me..." Zach said, lowering his weapon ever so slightly.

"Don't worry. You can take care of the Minors. I'll take care of the hammer. Six can take the fuel rod." Emile said quickly. Emile and Six leapt off into action in opposite directions, leaving Zach alone in the cover.

"Well, damn." he cursed, firing several shots at the nearest Minor.

Six raced over to the left of the fuel rod chieftain and fired a shot off to grab it's attention. It growled and marched over to his position, letting off a few shots which were easily dodged. He tossed a frag at it's feet and knocked it's shields out. It roared once again and shot several shots at him before needing a reload. The green plasma tore the ground around him, and took his shields down to ¼ strength. Six collapsed, as the strong blast had knocked the breath out of him.

Six lay there for several seconds to collect himself, nearly forgetting about the Brute who was trying to kill him. He raised his head and saw it right in front of him. He rolled out of the way as it's fist slammed into the ground where he had been barely a second ago. Now their faces were level and Six brought his fist into it's jaw, knocking it onto the ground, but hardly doing anything but fazing it for a moment. He quickly stood up and kicked it onto it's back, before leveling his DMR and putting several bullets into it's head.

He brought his attention to Emile, who was finishing off the other Chieftain with a kukri in it's mouth, through the top and out the top of the skull.

"You like that?" he said in it's face. The Brute only gargled in response, before Emile let it drop to the ground, blood pooling around it's skull. A now slightly purple Emile and Six brought their attention to their marine teammate who had done surprisingly well, having killed two of the Minors and injured the third who was crawling back to the Phantom's gravity beam.

"Let it go." Six said, raising a hand to stop Levi. "I've got this."

Six let the Brute go in the gravity beam, before following it up. The Brute had somehow not been expecting this and was quickly killed by a knife to the skull. Six got into the cockpit and killed the Brute pilot. He was surprised the dumb apes even knew how to pilot. He studied and learned the controls quickly, having been taught how to drive one years ago in a training program. He played with the controls to get a feel for it then invited the two up inside.

"C'mon you two. We've got a way off this planet now." he said proudly.

"Good job Six." Emile said simply.

A few moments passed and the two joined him in the cockpit. He noticed Emile was sporting a fuel rod on his back currently. Emile noticed him eying the cannon on his back and shrugged.

"Never know when you'll need the firepower." he said.

"Yep." Zach agreed. "As I always say: When in doubt, set everything on fire...or blow it up."

Six let himself have a faint chuckle at the marines words, before twisting the Phantom upwards to space and speeding away from the planet. They were lucky to have found the Phantom, as they surely would've been fired upon otherwise.

"May Reach, and Noble Team always be remembered..." Six said quietly.

"Amen." Emile said.

They had barely gotten a couple miles away from the surface before their commlinks, and the Phantom's radios broke out in a distress signal.

"...Need backup...attacked...Phantom...too many..."

The voice sounded familiar. Far too familiar to be coincidence.

"Boost the Phantom's signal." Emile told Six. Six did so quickly, as well as slowing the Phantom down.

"I repeat...Spartan A259 requesting assistance..."

Emile and Six looked at each other. No words were shared. They already knew what was to be done. Six turned the Phantom towards the surface and headed to the signal's origin point at full speed.

* * *

**A/N: Bit shorter chapter but I think it's alright.**


	5. Chapter 5: Search and Rescue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo.**

**A/N: Sorry about the lack of updates...I haven't been inspired to write at all. But here's 3 chapters at once to slightly make up for it. Hopefully Chapter 8 will be done next week. Also if you're interested in Jorge or Emile I'll be putting up some two seperate stories starring them. Jorge's story will be up first and Emile's should be up tommorow or next week.**

* * *

**Carter  
****August 31, 2552  
****Mountain Rubble, Reach**

A chunk of rock flew past his head as a grenade exploded barely a few feet away from him. Carter quickly moved to another rock, much larger than the last and reloaded his DMR. He checked his mags and saw he had only one left, excluding the one already loaded.

"Damnit." he said, popping his upper torso out of cover and killing a pair of Grunts. His warthog lay in a destroyed heap not far, only just out of the area of rocks and rubble. He looked up and saw the Phantom that had gotten him into the predicament, and it fired a shot at him as he got back fully into cover.

Even after surviving an explosion and a long fall, he was going to die from a petty Phantom and it's troops. Fate worked in cruel and interesting ways. He could hear the Jackals and Grunts firing their plasma pistols wildy at his position, accomplishing nothing save for killing the batteries of their guns. He peeked around the corner quickly, and tossed a frag into the midst of the Jackals, blowing most of their numbers up.

He only had a pair of Brutes, an Elite Major, several Grunts, and a final Jackal to kill with less than two DMR mags. Of course he still had to deal with the Phantom as well, but he could do little to no damage against it. It would be a waste of ammo anyways, not that it mattered currently.

Carter took another peek and saw another Phantom come towards the area. He now had no chance of surviving. If only the call for evac had gotten someone...anyone...even just a response would've helped. He took a slow, deep breath and prepared to fight his final battle. He leapt out of cover, confident he would do his best in his final moments. He watched as the second Phantom passed by the first, most likely readying to deploy troops and suddenly several green blasts shot out of the open side and sent the other Phantom crashing to the ground and exploding on impact.

Carter leapt up onto the rock in front of him and 3 identifier NAV point appeared on his HUD(**A/N: aka those name tags on Nobles/marines heads. Don't know if there's an official name for them.) **and the names of Emile, Six, and Zach(_Likely a marine..._ Carter thought) were shown.

Carter couldn't help but grin as Emile hopped out of the ship and began tearing the Covenant apart with his fuel rod, as Zach with the side-turret and Six with the main turret helped provide air support. He placed a couple fingers to his ear and contact them on an open-channel.

"Thanks for the support Noble and Zach. They nearly had me there." he said.

"I'm sure you would've done fine without us, sir." Emile said, blasting the final enemy to pieces. "Now let's get moving, Six. Pick us up."

"On it."

The Phantom passed over Emile, who quickly threw the now empty fuel rod away, and he rose up into it's belly. It came over Carter next, and he put his DMR onto his back as he floated up as well.

Carter landed on the metallic floor of the ship, and saw Emile waiting for him with his helmet off. Carter took his off, and gripped his shoulder in greeting.

"Good to see you Emile. I'll assume Six is flying this bucket?" Carter said.

"Yes sir. And it's good to see you too sir. I see that explosions aren't strong enough to take our commander out." Emile said, beginning to walk with him to the cockpit.

"It certainly came close to it...if it weren't for-" Carter paused in both sentence and step.

"What is it?" Emile asked, a quizzical look coming over face.

"We've gotta go back. There are civilians stranded in some caves not too far from here." Carter said in response, as the two entered the cockpit.

"Nice to see you sir...and what was that about going back?" Six asked.

"Some caves not too far from here have some civilians stranded in them. I'll mark it with a NAV." Carter said, marking the point which quickly appeared on the other two Spartans HUDs. "...and good to see you as well Six."

Carter walked back into the main bay and saw Zach sitting on the ground and leaning against the side wall.

"Oh, Commander sir!" he said, standing up quickly and saluting.

"At ease soldier. We're going on a quick rescue mission. Should be quick and painless." he informed the man. The two remained quiet for a moment before Carter broke the silence.

"So Private, what's your story?" he asked.

"Oh, um...well I was helping protect the Autumn before it launched. The side opposite of you guys. Didn't see you Spartans over there, but I saw a single taller green armoured one. He looked more formal than you guys though. His armour wasn't really as...how should I put it...unique." Zach said, eying Carter's armour. "Anyways, me and a small squad of survivors went out into the vast wasteland here and found a good formation of rocks and made camp. Not long after, Emile and Six came hobbling along, Emile with a lovely stab wound. Blah blah blah, we got attacked and I was the only marine survivor..." He held up 9 dogtags for Carter to see.

Carter almost unconsciously took out Kat's dogtags and looked at them.

"It's a great feeling, being the survivor..." Zach said sadly but sarcastically, before noticing Carter. "I see the feeling is mutual..." he said more somber.

Then suddenly Carter's comm sprang to life. "You seeing this Commander?" Emile asked.

Carter looked out the side and saw smoke billowing out of the cave entrance. He put Kat's dogtags away and put his DMR into his hands.

"Six get us closer. I'll need you and Emile to help clear out any hostiles inside." Carter said, standing closer to the side exit. Soon the Phantom had situated itself over the cave and Six and Emile came out to join the other two.

"Alright," Carter began. "Zach, defend this ship. If we don't make it, blow it up, or try and get the hell out of here."

Zach nodded. Carter nodded back, then stepped down into the grav lift and touched the ground several seconds later, followed by the crunching of earth and sand of two other Spartans boots. The three stealthily made their way into the cave, passing by several dead bodies along the way.

This wasn't looking good for the civilians who had made this their shelter. Carter feared the worst: that no one had survived. If only they had been quicker. He wanted to smash something but he had to remain cool in front of his team. They turned the corner and found a pair of dead Brute bodies.

"Brutes." Six said. "Animals. All of them."

"Help!"

"What was that?" Emile said, raising his shotgun towards the voice.

"That was a call for help..." Carter said, before sprinting off towards the voice. He heard a Brute growl and turned a corner and found a Brute holding Leonard by the throat. He raised his gun and fired at it, and it dropped Leonard to the ground. Carter towards it firing all of his mag into it's flesh, making it flinch almost every time. He was soon in melee range, and caved it's skull in with a swift and hard butt to the skull. He threw the DMR to the ground, being useless to him now, and stooped down to Leonard's level.

"Thanks you Spartan..." he said, before letting out a hacking cough. Carter noticed the man was in very bad shape, with both legs broken and his right arm bleeding profusely...he wasn't looking good.

"Did you find what you were looking for? Your way off this planet?" Leonard asked weakly.

"Yes. Even came with extra." Carter said as Emile and Six rounded the corner, weapons raised.

"Good, good." Leonard said, letting out another cough. "Now there's no use staying here. Get off this doomed planet and survive to help our race."

"Not without you." Carter said, taking his helmet off and dropping it to the floor.

"No...I'm already long gone...as is everyone else here...go Spartan." Leonard said, taking Carter's helmet and giving it to him. Carter sat the man up against the wall, not wanting him to die weak on his back.

"Good...luck." Leonard said, coughing once more.

Carter closed his eyes and put his helmet back on, and heared Leonard's breathing stop. He closed the man's eyes and stood up, fists clenched.

"Let's go." Carter said, leading the way out. Emile and Six hesitated for a moment before following in behind their leader.

"Shouldn't we search for other survivors sir?" Six asked.

"You heard him. No one left. Damn Brutes killed them all." Carter said, emotion all but gone from his voice.

Six and Emile didn't say anything more as they left the cave and headed towards the Phantom. Six stopped for a moment and looked back at the cave's entrance. The smoke had dissipated almost completely in the time they had spent inside there...then he saw a faint movement. He raised his weapon and walked towards it. A thin sheet of metal covered with some dirt and rubble was moving ever so slightly. He reached down and tugged, it took a bit of effort as it's edges were firmly smashed into the ground, but he eventually tugged it free and flipped it over. He found a woman under neath and he crouched down to examine her.

"Help..." she said weakly, her vice and accent extremely familiar to Six.

"Sara..." he said, placing his weapon on his back and picking her up gently. He started making his way over to the Phantom.

"Six." Carter's voice sounded over the comm. "What did you find?"

"Sara. From the Relay Station." he said, nearly at the Phantom now.

"Good eye Six. Get her up here, and then we can get off of this planet." Carter said.

Six arrived at the Phantom and was lifted up by the gravity beam, he landed on the floor with a thud and placed Sara safely against the wall. He quickly examined her and noticed she was more or less healthy and fine. She had some cuts and bruises and a bump on her head,which could be a possible concussion, but Six was sure she was fine.

"Take care of her Zach. I'll get us out of here." Six said.

"Yes sir." Zach said, crouching next to the woman.

Six found both Emile and Carter in the cockpit.

"How is she?" Carter asked, helmet off.

"Fine. Just a bit knocked up." Six said, sitting in the pilot seat.

"Good. Emile, you help Zach with her." Carter commanded.

Emile shot Carter a look.

"Do it." Carter said.

"Fine." Emile said, stepping out of the cockpit.

Six began monitoring controls and systems and everything seemed to be in check. Then he noticed a a blip on the ship's radar. He scanned the surrounding area and found nothing. He set the search for an even larger area, and found something very concerning.

"Sir, we've got trouble." Six said.

"What is it?" Carter asked, stepping up next to him.

"Covenant frigate overhead." Six said bluntly.

Then suddenly something tried to contact them over the ships comm. Six couldn't understand a single word of it so it had to be of Covenant origin.

"Damnit! I can't respond!" Six said, messing with the controls.

"Just get us moving! Anywhere'll do!" Carter said, before moving to the main bay to inform the others. Then another thing tried to contact them, this time over an open channel. Six switched his own commlink to the channel and a man's voice reached his ears.

"We need backup here! We've got a Covenant cruiser directly overhead! Anyone, everyone please respond!"

"This is Spartan B312. I've got a Phantom and two other Spartans with me. We're en-route to your location in a Phantom." Six said, flying towards the source of the signal.

"Thank god. More Spartans. Just be careful on your way here. Beck out."

_More _Spartans? Could it be Jun-?

Suddenly, he noticed that several red blips were approaching them. He looked through the Phantom's systems and figured out they were other Phantoms. Clearly that frigate didn't trust them.

"This isn't good." he muttered to himself.

The NAV point for the marines wasn't too far from their current point though. If they were lucky, they might have heavy weapons to help them with the Phantoms. All Six knew was that it was going to be a rough ride.


	6. Chapter 6: Jun

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo.**

* * *

**Jun, Carter, Emile, Six, and Halsey  
****August 30, 2552  
****Artifact's Exterior Landing Pad, Reach**

Noble Team and Halsey made their way out to the landing pad where a pair of Pelicans awaited them, ready for takeoff. Carter turned towards Halsey and Jun.

"Dr. Halsey, Noble Three will escort you to CASTLE Base." he said firmly.

Halsey shot him a look. "I require no escort, Commander-"

"Jun," Carter interrupted her. "...make sure nothing falls into enemy hands."

Jun nodded. "I'll do what's necessary sir...Good luck."

"You too rifleman." Carter said, before turning away and leading Emile and Six into their Pelican while Jun and Halsey went into their own.

Halsey took her seat as pilot, and began prepping the bird for liftoff as Jun took a seat in the troop bay. He watched the other Pelican lift off, just as their began to do so as well. After a few moments of flying, and when they had some distance between each other, the frozen ice below them(which probably included the artifact as well Jun mused.) imploded in upon itself destroying virtually all evidence of it's existence. That would piss the Covenant off.

Halsey drove the Pelican around a large mountain and the other Pelican disappeared from sight, leaving only the two of them left.

"You think they'll make it?" Jun asked, loud enough for Halsey to hear.

"The Lieutenant was chosen for a reason. Him, along with the other two members of Noble helping along the way...It would seem that they have a greater chance of succeeding and living than we do." Halsey said.

Jun remained silent and just watched as the ground quickly passed beneath them.

* * *

**Jun and Halsey  
****August 30, 2552  
****Outskirts of CASTLE Base, Reach**

"Nearly there, Noble Three." Halsey said.

Jun came up to the cockpit and looked out the cockpit to see the mountain that held CASTLE Base in it's depths, coming closer and closer to engulfing all of his view. It was majestic in a way, being one of the last things standing in a wasteland of death and nothingness.

Jun faintly saw a large group of marines defending the entrance, and were surprisingly doing quite well at repelling Covenant invaders. Then suddenly, Jun saw a flash of bright green from out of the corner of his eyes: a fuel rod blast.

"Incoming!" Jun shouted, but Halsey had little time to react before the blast his their right thruster and wing.

"Damnit! We're hit!" she yelled, fighting for control of the vehicle. It started to barrel towards the ground and Halsey was forced to abandon the controls. She looked at Jun. "We need to get off this ship, and fast."

Their were no options that came to Jun's mind, as she wouldn't be able to survive a fall of this height without protection-wait...

"I've got an idea, ma'am. It's a bit risky." Jun said, attaching his sniper rifle to his back.

"Anything's better than staying on this thing." Halsey said in response.

Jun motioned for her to follow him to the end of the troop bay and he turned away from the exit towards her and motioned once again, this time for her to come close. She seemed to get the idea though as she backed herself up into his arms.

"I see...you're going to use yourself to soak up the impact and protect me from harm..." Halsey said.

"Exactly...now get ready in..." Jun stopped for a moment to look down to the ground. They were approximately 20 feet above it. It was survivable, but waiting about 10 seconds would be safest for the both of them.

"10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5."

They were about 12 feet above ground level. Not too much more time left...

"4. 3. 2. 1."

5 feet. It was no or never.

"Go!" Jun said, pushing himself backwards off the Pelican and landed hard on the ground. He let go of Halsey, who took the fall better than he had hoped, then stood up along with her. He saw the Pelican crash into ground not too far from them and it exploded, leaving the Pelican unrecognizable.

"That could have been us." Jun said solemnly.

"Indeed it could have. But let us continue. The entrance is hardly half a kilometer away." Halsey said, leading the way.

The short walk to the entrance was fairly uneventful, save for the few Covenant that thought they could handle the sniper of Noble Team. Needless to say, they didn't survive long once he saw them.

"Sierra, Doctor." an ODST greeted them, saluting. "Glad to see you made it...mostly unharmed."

"Likewise Sergeant." Halsey said, noticing the rank on his shoulder.

"Yeah. We've been defending the entrance for a good hour now. Only lost a few troops so far." the ODST said.

"Good, good. Now I need clearance." Halsey asked.

"Go right ahead, ma'am." the ODST said. "I couldn't stop you if I tried anyways."

Halsey smiled and began making her way past the troopers, and Jun made to follow her but she held out a hand as she turned around.

"Doctor-"

"No. You've done your part Noble Three. Stay outside and wait for your teammates. The marine will need your help out here anyways." Halsey said.

Jun was tempted to ignore her but knew that she was right. He needed to protect the area from outside and give her an exit if she needed it...and of course waiting for his team played a part in his decision. He took out his sniper rifle from his back and cocked and loaded it.

"Right then. I'll be here when you need me Doctor." he said, nodding in affirmation.

Halsey gave him a look of finality, before leaving for the insides of CASTLE Base. Jun watched her go before returning his attention to the battlefield before him. He touched a pair of fingers to his ear and activated his private channel with the other Spartans of Noble.

"This is Jun, does anyone read me? Over."

Nothing but white noise.

"I repeat this is Jun does anyone read? Is the Package delivered?"

Still nothing. Jun lowered his hand, feeling saddened, but not all hope was lost. They were more than likely too far away to receive the transmission. They would get the Package delivered. They had to. Jun looked to the sky and saw a giant frigate drifting across to a work dock at the far side of the plains. He could only hope that Noble wasn't there.

* * *

**Jun  
****August 30, 2552  
****CASTLE Base Entrance, Reach**

An explosion of blue and white filled Jun's vision, throwing him several feet away and knocking his shields out. He got onto his hands and knees and looked at the small blackened crater it had left behind. A pair of marines had been too close and were pretty much half liquid, and obviously dead. Some others had gotten thrown back as well, but they were more or less fine.

Jun's shields finished recharging to full strength and he stood himself up, searching for the culprit of the explosion. He located it in mere seconds, and found out it was a Wraith unsurprisingly. He crouched and brought his sniper up and locked onto it. Good thing it was an anti-material rifle, not just merely a sniper. He shot four times, each one resounding with a loud bang making the Wraith go critical and explode.

He stood up and the ODST Sergeant ran over to him.

"Sir." he said saluting.

"Brooks. What is it?" Jun asked, knowing something was up.

"Look behind you." Brooks said.

Jun twisted his head and noticed several Banshees and Phantoms closing in on their position, with a few Ghosts and Wraiths following on the ground. A Covenant frigate was preparing to engage forces near a dock on the other side as well. They clearly wanted this position more though, for whatever was inside CASTLE. But everyone there knew they couldn't retreat, they would give their lives if they had to.

Jun loaded a fresh clip into his rifle and cocked it. "We can't give this position to them. We have to stand our ground."

"We're gonna be slaughtered. I know we need to defend this entrance, but is it worth all of our lives? We aren't gonna stop them." Brooks said angrily.

Jun hesitated for a moment as he thought. The ODST was right, but they still needed to defend this area...or maybe...

"Alright, but we need plenty of explosives to cave the entrance in. Can't risk the Covenant getting to our tech and discovering Earth." Jun said.

"We'll get right on that. Everyone! We're leaving! Rocket and grenadiers cave the entrance in!" Brooks shouted.

Everyone quickly began moving away from the entrance, along with Jun and Brooks, and several rockets and grenades were tossed and shot around the entrance and sent rubble caving in. They joined the group and they all tried to get away as quickly as possible.

"These next few hours are gonna be hell, whether we die or not." Brooks said.

Jun remained silent as he saw the Covenant frigate get shot down by a mounted mass driver and a ship lift off from the dock.

"Whoa damn." Brooks said. "Those guys are having better luck than we are."

"Yeah..." Jun said, trailing off. That kind of work could only be done by Noble...or a great group of marines. He could only hope it wasn't the latter.

* * *

**Jun, Emile, Six, Carter, and Zach  
****September 1, 2552  
****Abandoned Landing Pad, Reach**

Early morning darkness had consumed the land, only the flashes of yellow, blue, green, and pink lighting it up, along with the many fires that burned across the planet's surface.

"Are you sure they're coming?" Brooks asked, half-shouting before blasting a Grunt apart with a shotgun.

"They said they were! In a Phantom if I remember correctly!" Beck said.

"It's been an hour already!" Brooks said. "We've lost too many men already! We'll have to retreat!"

Jun came over to them and sniped a Brute on the far side. "They're my teammates, or so I'm lead to believe, they'll come."

Jun heard the sound of a Phantom reach his ears and he turned around and saw one fly in around the corner and several tags popped over it on his HUD.

"There they are. Marked as friendlies on motion trackers." Jun informed the remaining marines.

Jun saw Emile and a marine get beamed down and run over to their position. Emile greeted him with a simple nod before firing his shotgun at the enemy. The marine shot a Grunt in the face, sending him flying by methane before greeting him in his way.

"The name's Zach, I'll assume you're Jun. They told me a bit about you, or at least enough. Also, if you've got heavy weapons I'd advise you get them ready 'cause we had some friends tag along." Zach said, motioning towards three Phantoms which just came into view and began firing at their own Phantom.

Jun quickly took aim and destroyed one of the front turrets.

"Damn. Good aim." Zach complimented him.

"Thanks. I've got plenty of practice with this thing." Jun said, before firing at one of the Grunt side turrets and killing it. "Brooks, get the rockets ready."

"On it." Brooks said, plucking the rocket off one of the dead marines and firing twice at the closest ship. It swung around to fire at him, but the friendly Phantom began firing at it and rammed into it sending it crashing to the ground.

"Who's driving that thing?" Jun asked, shooting at a Brute on the ground. There weren't too many ground forces left.

"That'd be Six." Zach said, killing the last two enemies, Buggers. "He's not too bad of a pilot."

"I've heard." Jun said, remembering Kat's comment about him being able to pilot a Sabre.

"Alright, everyone focus fire on the Phantoms!" Brooks said, reloading his rocket launcher and firing twice again at another Phantom as another marine joined him. Six shot a few more times at it and it crashed onto the landing pad and exploded.

One Phantom was left, and it tried to take out as many enemies as it could by firing at the marines and it killed several before being blown up as well.

"Well," Zach said, breathing heavily. "That was fun."

One of the marines merely chuckled at him.


	7. Chapter 7: Escape

**Disclaimer: I do not own Halo.**

**A/N: Just a quick note...I'm going to be focusing more on the character's emotions and inner turmoils and all that fun stuff in this chapter and beyond. I've sort of been focusing just a bit too much on action (which isn't going away mind you). Maybe it's just me...So if emotions feel a bit sudden or a bit out of character, that's why. Also this is a pretty short chapter...yeah.**

* * *

**Jun, Emile, Carter, Six, Zach, Brooks  
****September 1, 2552  
****Abandoned Landing Pad, Reach**

"So how'd the adventure go?" Jun asked, helmet under arm, rifle on his back.

"We survived." Emile said, helmet off as well and his shotgun hanging loosely in his hand. "Done."

"You never have been one for stories." Jun said, chuckling.

"Ha ha ha." Emile laughed sarcastically.

The four members of Noble Team had gathered around underneath the Phantom and were currently sharing stories. They finally had a moment of peace and relaxation (to an extent) to share what had happened for the past two days they had been away from each other. Zach was treating Sara not too far away from them. He had been a doctor/medic but didn't want to do anything earlier because of the lack of supplies, but he was was currently treating her fine and she would hopefully be up and walking soon.

Of the four, Emile and Carter looked the worse suit wise. Carter's was still stained with his own blood and chunks of metal had come out while Emile had a pair of thin holes through his suit.

"We've got some supplies to fix up your suit Emile. Make it safe for vacuum." Jun said.

"That'd be useful." Emile said. "Point me to it."

Jun pointed and Emile was off towards it. He brought his attention back to the Spartans in front of him.

"So again, how was the adventure?" he asked.

"Didn't go as planned. Me and Emile nearly died and we both encountered many people along the way, but Six got the Package delivered and allowed the Autumn to escape. We completed our mission, to put it simply." Carter explained, Six and Emile telling him their story earlier.

"Good. Halsey stationed me and some marines to guard CASTLE's entrance but we were forced to cave it in and retreat here which is why you found us here. But it's good to have a break...if only temporarily." Jun said, raising his face up to the midday sun.

The other two Spartans were inclined to agree. It had been incredibly hectic the last few days. Six noticed that the marines were returning from the search and gathering parties and notified Carter and Jun before placing his helmet on and lifting up into the Phantom to prep for flight.

Carter and Jun placed their helmets on and Jun went to help some of the marines, though they found very little, only a few bits of food, water and some ammo. It would last them a few days though and they would surely be able to find UNSC forces to help them out before that time period ended. Carter walked over to Zach who had gotten Sara to wake up. He heard him coming and greeted him.

"Hey Spartan. Got her awake and patched her up. She should be careful about using her right leg though. It's fractured but it doesn't quite require a cast or anything. It'll heal by itself without help." Zach notified him.

"Good. Now get to the ship. We're leaving soon." Carter said before walking off to help some of the marines.

Zach lifted Sara onto her feet and made barely a step before Sara almost collapsed.

"Geez..." Zach said, holding her steady. He'd need to call one of the Spartans over to help him with her. Carter and Jun were busy helping, and Emile was...Emile. So Six was the only one available. He contacted him over the comm.

"Hey Six, I could use some help with the girl-"

"Sara." the woman said.

"Okay-Sara. I need help with Sara." Zach said, looking at her.

"Help?" Six's voice asked.

"As in carrying her." Zach said sheepishly, knowing the Spartan probably didn't intend that to mean anything personally.

"Alright. Ship's all prepped anyways." Six said, and moments later he came down the lift and walked over to the pair of humans. He scooped Sara up effortlessly and walked back to the ship, as Zach collected his supplies. The two went up and hit the metallic floor of the Phantom. He placed her against one of the side walls, which he had just recently closed for the journey into space. He began to walk back to the cockpit before her voice stopped him.

"I notice you're missing two of your team. I already...know of Jorge's fate...what of the female of your group?" Sara asked sorrowfully, anticipating the almost obvious answer.

Six clenched his fists and bowed his head. "Dead. Killed by a cowardly Covenant sniper."

She didn't give a response. Six assumed she probably had assumed the answer already.

"I should've seen it on my radar. I could've stopped it." Six said calmly, while anger boiled through his veins. Just remembering, caused so much pain. These emotions were almost new to him, he usually could control himself. But the month or so he spent with Noble connected him with them, and losing them so early...was too much.

"Cowardly bastards." Six said before smashing his fist in the wall and denting it. He gave himself a moment to calm down before entering the cockpit, leaving Sara alone to ponder what had happened.

Six threw his helmet to the ground and put his forehead into his open hands. He was a Spartan, not a emotional teenager. He should be keeping these emotions in check. He remained leaned over, and moved his hands onto his thighs and noticed both his and Jorge's dog tags hanging down from his neck. He sighed sadly, knowing he could've prevented the S-II's death as well. He was surely more valuable than a lowly S-III. Even worse, their deaths accomplished nothing, only to allow some stupid AI to supposedly help humanity.

He griped his forehead again and tried to put the emotions aside for the time being. He picked up his helmet and placed it back on his head just as Carter stepped inside the cockpit.

"You alright Six? Sara told to check up on you." Carter asked, his helmet held at his side.

"I'm...not, Commander." Six said. Carter placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Speak your mind."

"Do you feel Kat's and Jorge's deaths were in vain?" Six asked.

Carter took a moment to ponder the question before answering.

"We got the AI off planet...we have to hope it can do what everyone else cannot." Carter said.

"That's not answering my question."

Carter paused once again. He took longer to answer him, but eventually it came out.

"I really don't know...I miss them just as you do..." Carter said, subconsciously holding Kat's tag on his neck. "Maybe more...But if we don't escape, they'll be even more in vain, so hold together Spartan. For the team, for you...for them."

"Thanks for the talk." Six said, straightening himself up.

"It's what I'm here for Six." Carter said, giving him one final pat on the back before joining the rest of the crew in the troop bay.

Carter found the bay pretty full, with both humans and supplies. They were lucky there weren't a whole lot of survivors, as bad as that sounded. Then he noticed the ODST Sergeant, who walked over to him.

"Everyone's aboard, sir." he said, saluting as the final word.

"Good." Carter said, touching his ear. "Six get us off this planet."

"Gladly sir." Six responded. The Phantom's engines activated and the smallest amount of motion was felt by everyone. Carter walked over to Jun who had sat himself down against one of the walls. He lowered himself to the floor and placed his helmet on his lap.

"Jun." he said.

"Commander." Jun said back.

There were a few moments of silence between the two before Jun broke the ice.

"Feels good to be doing nothing, as odd as that sounds coming from a Spartan. It's been too hectic...and there's been too much...death." he said somberly.

"We all know that too well." Carter said, knowing Jun was talking about their lost teammates and the fact they just lost another planet to the Covenant.

Carter loked around the bay and everyone seemed to be sitting around and conversing about the recent events. The two ODSTs-one being Brooks and the other more feminine and wielding a sniper rifle-were clearly talking on a private channel as their body movements showed. The marines and Sara were talking about their homes and family, and Zach was trying his best to keep the mood up. Emile was standing off to the side, away from everyone.

_And these are the last survivors of Reach. A small chunk of the once giant boulder that was Reach._ Carter thought. But humanity would rebuild, as it always did. He placed his helmet on for privacy and closed his eyes, getting his first good rest in days.


End file.
